Just a Kiss
by flawedperfectionx
Summary: An army wife, that's what they called her. But those women knew where their husbands were. They knew that eventually they would return home. At twenty two and pregnant, Elena Salvatore's husband has gone missing in Vietnam and life is never going to be the same. AH/AU.
1. Prologue

A/N: Without really thinking about this, I have somewhat convinced myself that I can take on this story and I hope that the part of my brain that convinced me to do this won't disappoint you guys. My brain is a very dangerous place, lol. Anyway, without further ado, I present to you this fic.

(Did I mention I am terribly afraid of disappointing y'all?)

The hot June weather was the bane of Elena Salvatore's existence; she was forced to sit in front of their half broken down air conditioner, that Stefan always promised to fix but never got around to it, and hope to God she wouldn't melt in the process.

Outside, Stefan mowed the lawn in nothing but a ratty pair of jeans. Elena smiled softly, thinking that this was truly the life she had been wanting for so long and now she had it. Things could only go up from there.

Peeling herself from her chair, Elena shed off her top, discarding it in the laundry room just off their kitchen before she walked outside.

Stefan was leaning against one of the poles, drinking a beer. She didn't much fancy the drink but he didn't complain on the nights when she drank too much wine and got touchy-feely in front of their friends, so she wouldn't complain about a few beers here and there.

"Hey sexy," she grinned and moved toward him, eyeing the backyard. "All done," she noted, nodding in approval. "Much faster than I expected," she added, clearly impressed.

Stefan grinned down at her and laid his beer to the side, wrapping his arms around her. He was sticky with sweat and it took a great deal of self-control not to unwrap herself from his arms. "Well, what can I say? I aim to please."

Elena rolled her eyes and he pressed his lips against her forehead. "I'm going to town to get a few things, need anything while I'm up there?"

He paused for a moment, and then shook his head. "Not that I can think of."

Elena nodded and pressed a kiss to the underside of his chin. "All right, I'm going to go grab a tank top and then I'll be on my way. Check the mail while I'm out, will you?"

Stefan nodded and cupped her cheek, lifting her head up to meet his lips. "Be safe now, all right?"

**XOXOXO**

When Elena returned home from the grocery store, she quickly put everything away – especially the jug of milk, which was already getting warm from the summer heat. After everything was put away, she went to the back door, expecting to see Stefan still out on the porch, not having done anything that she had asked him to do. However, he was nowhere to be seen. After sticking her head outside and looking around, just in case he'd moved into her blind spot and then moving back inside, she became instantly curious. "Stefan?" She called out. "Are you here?"

She thought briefly that perhaps he had just walked down to the post office moments before she had arrived but when she heard shuffling upstairs, that idea quickly vanished. Rolling her eyes, she walked up the stairs to their bedroom – also known as the location of the shuffling – and was met with Stefan's back.

Over the years that they had been dating, Elena had grown a special appreciation for Stefan's back. It had all the right grooves and was the best to grab on when they were making love. Though that didn't mean to say she liked it less than she liked his front end. His front end had a lot of pluses.

"Babe?" she asked, raising her eyebrows in his direction. "What on earth are you doing up here with our junk mail?"

Stefan didn't react to her voice. She found it instantly strange because Stefan always reacted to her voice, even in the deepest sleep when she was calling him, he knew. He, however, looked very deep in thought as he began to pace back and forth in front of her, reading a white letter in his hands as he did so.

Elena watched him move back and forth for a moment before she stood in front of him, waving her hand in front of his face. Stefan stopped and looked up and just handed her the letter.

She read it once, and then read it again and again until she could no longer see the words on the page through the tears in her eyes. "You have to leave in two days," she whimpered.

Three months ago, Stefan had gone through a full physical and brief training along with the aptitude tests and other requirements for the United States Army and was told he was put on a waiting list and would get a letter when they needed him. She thought for sure that it would be a couple of years before they got a letter like this, not three months.

Stefan nodded once and swallowed. "I didn't think…"

"I know."

"So this is it." He stops talking and notices she's reading the letter again. Very gently, he reaches over and takes it from her hands, laying it on the dresser. Elena meets his eyes as he does that and then leans in and wraps his arms around her very tightly. She doesn't try to fight it but instead melts into his embrace.

She kisses his chest and is numb. They were supposed to have babies before he went to war, even put a down payment on a new car or something. They were supposed to have more time than the United States Army had allotted them.

"Stefan?" She whispered against his chest.

"Yeah?" he asked, pulling back slightly to meet her eyes. They were red and swollen and when she looked at him, his heart broke.

Instead of speaking, she leaned up and kissed him, conveying the emotions she was feeling in that one simple kiss. When she pulled back, it was only for a moment. "Make love to me."

**XOXOXO**

June 7th came and went and then it was June 8th. Elena didn't know what to do with herself. She stared off in space, unable to comprehend a life where she didn't wake up to Stefan every day and of course, little Stefan too.

Elena wiped away tears she wasn't aware had even been there in the first place. Stefan had been given such a short time to prepare to go to war, but she had known that it had always been his dream, to fight for his country. She couldn't be selfish and wish that he wouldn't leave even though she did. There wasn't anything she could do about it now anyway.

Stefan walked into the room, a camouflage hat and pants paired with a sea green shirt and boots as his choice of wardrobe. Her heart stopped and so did he once he saw the tears in her eyes. Laying his bag down beside him, he moved toward her, wrapping his arms around her. "Hey," he whispered against her head, kissing it. "Don't you be at that, you hear?"

Elena laughed despite the overwhelming sadness in her at that moment. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest, hysterically crying into his t-shirt. He held her close, letting her cry event though she was ruining his shirt. "I'm going to miss you so much." She whispered into his chest and he rubbed her back softly.

"I'll miss you more than you'll ever know." He pulled back away from her and cupped her cheeks. "You be good, all right? Stay safe and I'll be there with you always even if I ain't." He pressed a kiss to her forehead. Elena held onto his hands.

"Write me to me every chance you get?" She asked, choking back another round of sobs. "Even when you don't have time for me?" she continued, blinking furiously. Her attempts of keeping calm were going under quickly.

"Baby girl," he said softly, a hint of pain in his voice. "You know I'd never _not_ have time for you." He rubbed her cheek softly, about to say something else when a horn blasted from outside. It was time.

"Be safe, please," Elena whispered and leaned up, pressing her lips to his.

Stefan reciprocated the action, holding her as tight to him as was possible as he kissed her like he'd never see her again. Like this was their last first kiss. When he pulled away, Elena nearly broke down again and he wiped away her tears. "I'll be seeing you."

**XOXOXO**

Hey guys! This is just the prologue so it isn't much but I wanted it to be short as a personal choice. Anyway, I hope that you like this and hopefully soon I will have the second chapter. BTW, the second chapter will be set about 3 years after this.


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Hi! So I've received some very good reviews about this story and I am happy everyone is enjoying it so far. I only write to please my readers so I hope I don't disappoint. But be aware, it's going to be a long road for these two. Without further ado, the second chapter: keep in mind, this is about four years in the future. **Flashbacks are in italics!**

"Godmumma Rebekah?" The three year old asked, her hazy green eyes staring up at Rebekah from behind the island. Rebekah turned as best as she could, her six month pregnant belly proving to be more of an obstacle in her everyday life as she would have originally thought. "Whatcha making?" she asked, raising her eyebrows in her Aunt's direction.

Elissa Marie Salvatore was one of the most curious children, even at the age of three that Rebekah had ever encountered. Damon constantly told her that as a child Stefan was the exact same way, though the reminder of Stefan left a heavy feeling in the air. "I'm making spaghetti. It's Uncle Damon's favorite."

Lily (a nickname that had come when she was first learning to speak and could not pronounce the s's in her name) nodded quickly, leaning forward on the island. For a moment, Rebekah thought she was going to try and stand on the bar stool but instead she kneeled on it. The last time Rebekah had turned her back on Lily, the child had wound up with her head split open. She learned from that experience. "Paschetti is my favorite too, Godmumma!" She grinned softly.

"Oh, I remember," she grinned in response. "Can you sit on the chair, Lily? You remember what happened last time."

As if the reminder of Lily's blood all over the Salvatore kitchen wasn't enough to drive a person mad; Rebekah had been so worried that day and barely slept. Lily was only young at that point and barely remembered the incident, but the scar on the back of her head was a constant reminder of how close she had to be watched. Lily nodded again and sat back down on the chair properly, allowing Rebekah to breathe comfortably.

The front door opened and Damon walked through, carrying the mail with him. "Good afternoon Lily," he said, placing a wet kiss to her cheek. Lily squirmed away from him and giggled, watching as he walked over to Rebekah and repeated the same action. "Mm smells good. Spaghetti?" he asked hopefully.

Rebekah nodded her head, cracking a smile as she watched his face light up at her answer. She was pretty sure that it was in the Salvatore gene to be absolutely in love with spaghetti, even though it was kind of stereotypical Italian heritage. "Should be done by the time Elena comes home from yoga."

Damon nodded and went over to sit next to Lily behind the island, looking through the mail. "Junk, junk, bill, junk, junk, bill and something for Elena," he lifted it up and frowned softly. "Probably another false hope letter, telling her that they're still looking for him," he sighed softly, shaking his head. It had been a little over three years since they had found out that Stefan Salvatore, his younger brother, was officially known as Missing in Action and he knew now there was little hope that he had survived. He had just assumed that during one of the bombings Stefan had been involved and there was no body to return back to the family and this was the easiest way to get them to deal with it.

He still remembered that day like it was yesterday.

_December 25__th__, six months after Stefan's departure:_

_Damon sat with Rebekah in the loveseat, eying Elena cautiously as she moved around the room, her belly protruding outward. She was so tiny that her belly stood out more prominently and being that his brother had no idea that he was about to be a father did nothing to settle happily with Damon. He wished Elena would write him a letter and let him know, but she insisted that through the post was no way to inform a man that he was going to become a father._

_Elena sat down across from them on the couch where Caroline and Klaus sat, curled into each other. It was long after their presents had been opened and most were relishing in the fact that they only had one Christmas to themselves before they would be sharing it with another human being, more specifically the child within Elena's stomach. She was due in February and by the time the next Christmas came around, his niece or nephew would be near walking, if not already._

_He shook his head and tried to focus on the happy thoughts. In Stefan's last letter, he'd told them that he assumed they would let him come home after the eight month trial period they had set him in, which made Elena especially happy to know that there was the possibility of him returning home just in time to meet their little one._

_That image was destroyed within moments. A knock on the door startled the five of them and they all looked around, trying to count heads. Bonnie and Jeremy were in Florida visiting her family and Matt was with his sister and mother in New Jersey. They had no one left to be visiting them on Christmas._

_Damon stood up tentatively and walked over toward the door, opening it. Behind the door stood a solemn looking soldier next to a tough looking sergeant; Damon felt his heart drop. "We're looking for Elena Salvatore," the sergeant huffed._

_Elena got up quietly and moved toward the door, her hands instinctively against her bump. "I'm Elena Salvatore," she whispered, unable to raise her voice any louder than it was. "How may I help you?"_

_The soldier and the sergeant looked between each other before removing their hats. "I am sorry to inform you of this, Mrs. Salvatore, especially because it's Christmas and all, but it is my duty to inform you that Lt. Stefan Salvatore has been listed as Missing in Action."_

_Damon felt his heart stop in that moment and he looked at Elena, whose expression was unreadable. Her fingers were white from the grip she had on her belly and she looked like she was going to collapse at any point. He wrapped his arm around her just in case that happened. "He's… he's missing?" She croaked out, causing the men to dip their heads down. Elena's voice broke the hearts of everyone in that room. She sounded so broken, so defeated. "No, no. You're lying… I just got a letter from him; he told me that everything was okay." She shook her head back and forth repeatedly, unable to do anything else. Damon brought her against his chest just as her ranting became hysterically sobbing._

"_Thank you for letting us know," Damon said, unable to think of anything else to say to the men who had just delivered the worst news of his life. _

"_We will be in touch as soon as we know something more about Lt. Salvatore's location." The sergeant said, replacing his hat on his head. "I apologize sincerely for coming over here on Christmas, but we were just notified. It was direct orders to let the family know as soon as possible."_

Elena's screams that night had been deafening. Damon, nor anyone involved, had any idea how to handle her. Even Caroline, who had been best friends with her since they were in diapers stood awkwardly to the side as she thrashed and repeated "they're lying, they're lying!"

Damon looked over at Elissa as he remembered that moment. If his brother never came home, at least Elissa was there to live on with his legacy. He knew Stefan would be proud of her.

"It's not false hope," Rebekah cut in. "They're doing everything they can to find at least a body for her to bury."

Damon sighed softly, wishing they didn't have to talk about this in front of Lily. Lily knew far too much for a three years old and Elena constantly worried it would affect her relationship with other children as she moved into preschool the next year. "I just wish they wouldn't keep sending her these letters. If you don't know where he is, just let us know. Don't keep us hanging. We need to move on too."

Before they could continue their conversation, the front door opened once more and Elena walked into the kitchen area, smiling tightly at them all. "Hey," she said, moving over and squeezing Lily even though she knew she hated it. "Anything for me?" she asked, gesturing to the pile of mail.

Damon nodded and reluctantly handled her letter. She didn't open it immediately, she never did. She waited until she had time to herself where she could thoroughly analyze it and grasp some piece of information that was given to her in hopes that it would lead her closer to Stefan's whereabouts.

"I'm going to take a shower and I'll be back down shortly for dinner. It smells good, thank you for cooking Rebekah." She smiled and then walked out of the room.

The relationship between Rebekah and Elena was still a little bit awkward, even though they had been living in the same home since Stefan had been deported to Vietnam. Damon and Rebekah moved into Stefan and Elena's home soon after finding out that Elena was pregnant with Stefan's child. At the time they were just moving back into Mystic Falls, but Rebekah had insisted that an couple extra pairs of hands would be a great help to her and Stefan would have hated them both if they didn't do something more to help Elena in his absence.

Since then, they had been living together as one big happy family. And with Rebekah pregnant, the family was expanding and quickly. They thought about moving into their own home briefly after finding out about their addition, but leaving Elena alone didn't seem like an option anymore. She was physically independent but emotionally she relied on those around her.

The fact that after three years there was still no body of Stefan's to claim didn't sit well with any of their family but the United States Army claimed they were doing their best to locate him.

When Elena returned back down, she helped Lily onto her booster seat and sat next to her, scooping a generous amount of spaghetti on her plate. She didn't mention how it was Stefan's favorite meal too, or that Lily would insist that every single strand was cut before she ate it, just like Stefan did. It hurt too much to think that there might be a life where Stefan wasn't in it and every day that she didn't get a call or a letter saying they found his body was a good day.

**XOXOXO**

Matt came over later that night with ice cream for all of them; even though it was late, she let Lily have hers with the promise that she would sleep as soon as it was finished without complaining.

Lily reminded Elena so much of Stefan, even down to the simple things like how she downright refused to eat vanilla ice cream because it was too bland or the fact that she ate her veggies first and ate the "good stuff" last. The only attribute that Elissa gained from Elena were here features, her personality was all Stefan. That's what hurt the most, she knew.

After Lily was tucked into bed, she and Matt sat and watched television like they did every night. She and Matt had become somewhat close after Elissa was born. He had been with her to every one of Elissa's doctor appointments, ballet recitals and pretty much everything Elissa had ever been involved in. It was nice to have someone so concerned about her daughter's wellbeing, but that was where she drew the line.

She couldn't let Matt in any further than he was already in because Stefan was out there somewhere waiting for her and she just couldn't let that image seep from her mind as she sat on the couch next to him, acting like everything was all right even though they both knew it wasn't.

Tonight it was F.R.I.E.N.D.S re-runs. Most nights they would re-watch something or another; rarely talk to each other while they did it. When she and Stefan used to watch television together, they would laugh and carry on and enjoy the moments spent together. Matt seemed always standoffish about pushing her too far though, for good reason.

Elena stood up and looked down at him. "I'm going to get a drink, you want anything?"

Matt shook his head. "Nope, I'm good."

Nodding, Elena moved into the kitchen and went over to the fridge, opening the door and grabbing a bottle of water. When she closed the door, she noticed a drawing on the refrigerator and smiled softly. Another artwork of Lily's; she was challenging Uncle Nik easily with her artistic skills.

Removing it from the fridge, Elena brought it into the living room, showing it to Matt. "See what Lily drew today?" She grinned, looking down at the picture. "Daddy and me," she reads, holding onto the paper carefully.

"You've got quite the little artist there," Matt responds, forcing a smile on his face.

Matt always became a little timid whenever they talked about Stefan and though she knew he would never lay a hand on her, it made her feel uncomfortable at how he acted whenever Stefan would be brought into a conversation. "Lily deserves to know who her Daddy is, Matt." She says sternly.

Matt nodded and ran his hand over his face. "I know that, but she has just as much hope that one day he's just going to walk through that door as you do."

"Is that bad?" She asked, looking at him. "Is it so bad that I want nothing more than my husband to come home to be, to be safe and sound?" Matt had no answer. "That's what I thought."

She ran her fingers over the picture and smiled as she fingered the words "Daddy" and "me" on the page. "Wherever he is, may it be missing somewhere in Vietnam or in Heaven with the angels, Stefan is a part of Lily's life and I will continue to encourage her to draw pictures like this."

Some may say that Elena is crazy for letting her daughter believe that there is even the slightest chance that Stefan is still alive, but Elena can feel it. She and Stefan are soul mates, have been since they were in middle school and while for a brief period they broke up, it was only a short time before they fell back in love with each other. Elena didn't feel the emptiness she thought she would feel with the thought of Stefan being gone because she didn't truly believe he was.

If that made her a fool, then she was a fool.

**XOXOXO**

The next day started out like any other. Lily and Rebekah spent the day together while Elena and Damon worked. Elena worked for the same company Damon did. After giving birth to Lily she was low on cash and left her maternity leave early to start saving up some money for Lily. Rebekah loved Lily, so it wasn't like it was an inconvenience for her to spend every day with her but with Baby Salvatore only a mere three months away from his debut into the world, Elena knew that she would have to start cutting back on her strict hours so Lily would have more time to spend with her and less to spend with Rebekah.

Elena hated when people would say she was abandoning her child. Lily still saw her for a few hours each day and she almost always had weekends off. Perhaps people saw it as a worse situation because Stefan was currently missing and Elena was her only "living" parent. Perhaps she should have devoted her life to her daughter instead of getting a career to be able to pay the bills but Elena didn't like living off of anyone, even if it was only Damon and Rebekah.

When Elena returned home, Lily was on the couch watching the wiggles, holding her favorite teddy bear that she had named Stefan. She took Stefan everywhere with her, claiming that the teddy bear made her feel safe. Elena didn't have the heart to tell her to take it away from her.

After all, a part of her wished she had her own Stefan teddy bear.

Rebekah stood behind the island with her hands on her back, huffing slightly. When she heard Elena move into the room, a relieved expression came over her. "Thank the bloody heavens!" She cried. "Elena, be a darling and pick up my spoon, will you?"

Biting back a chuckle, Elena moved across the room and picked up the spoon with ease. "How long have you been standing there trying to get that spoon?" She asked, completely out of curiosity.

"A while, I don't know, ten, twenty minutes maybe?" Rebekah said, frustrated. She dropped the spoon into the sink and then looked over at her bowl of ice cream, nearly completed melted.

"Why didn't you ask Lily to help you?" Elena pondered the question in her head as she took the sorry looking bowl of ice cream away from Rebekah before she would begin to cry over it. She knew all about the crazy pregnant hormones, they were the worst.

Rebekah sighed. "Lily is a mastermind at best; the last time I dropped something, she couldn't understand why I wasn't able to pick it up properly." She shook her head at the memory; Elena rolled her eyes. Lily was a handful at times.

Most of the time was a better description, she thought to herself.

"What do you want for dinner?" Elena asked, walking over to the fridge. "And if you say some weird concoction, I'm going to have to veto it. Just because I've been pregnant doesn't make me want to eat the concoctions I've seen you eat any more."

Of course, Elena knew her concoctions had been far weirder than Rebekah's ever were. She was pretty sure the weirdest thing that she had ever seen Rebekah consume was pickles on bread.

Rebekah offered her a slight smile and shook her head. "Pizza sound good?"

Elena nodded. "I'll order it now."

**XOXOXO**

By the time Damon returned home, Elena and Lily were curled up on the couch together, watching some program. Elena looked up briefly but then diverted her eyes back to the television.

He sighed and moved into the kitchen, hoping to see his wife but most of the lights were off, just as she did before she fell asleep. It was only eight o'clock, but she always went to sleep early, claiming it was just part of the pregnancy.

Behind him there were footsteps and he thought briefly Elena had sent Lily out to say her goodnights but when he turned around and met Elena's doe eyes instead, his heart slightly sank. "I read the letter," she said softly.

Whenever Elena would receive a new letter, it felt like it was another punch in the gut. They were helpful at first, telling her that they were trying to locate him with the help of some fellow Lt.'s but then they became a lot less helpful and more leading her on a path of destruction.

"What did it say this time?" Damon said, trying to keep his cool. Were they any closer to finding his brother? Or were all those letters just empty promises while they tried to cover their own asses. A soldier considered MIA in the army didn't look good on them, that much he knew.

He diverted his gaze as her hands reached in underneath her shirt and Elena laughed slightly. "They sent this," she said, holding out Stefan's dog tags in her hands carefully. "And this," she motioned toward a folded up letter on the island.

Damon had noticed it briefly upon coming into the room but he preferred to not invade her privacy or anyone else's for that matter. Reluctantly, he lifted his hand and grabbed the letter, beginning to read it.

_To my baby girl,_

_God, I don't know how long it's been but it has to have been at least fifteen years since we last saw each other, right? I don't know how much longer I'm gonna be able to function without your pretty face. I'm starting to forget what you look like!_

_I'm just kidding. I have a picture here; I don't go to sleep without it._

_I can't talk long tonight though; Sergeant Daniels says we have an early morning rise for all of us. _

_I miss you more than life itself. Be safe, my darling._

_I love you so fucking much._

_Stefan_

_P.S. I'll be seeing you._

**XOXOXO**

I thought this was a good point to finish this chapter. So what do you guys think so far? This story is going to be mainly angst, but I just can't write happy after the season finale. Perhaps as time progresses I'll get in a bit happier mood but for now, this is what you guys will get. Reviews are love!


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: Ah! I'm so happy everyone likes this story. And so many people are asking the same question! Well I answer you this: you'll have to read and see! Enjoy this chapter :)

Rebekah was coming closer to her due date with every second that passed and with that she began to become more stressed. Even though she and Damon had helped raise Lily essentially and knew they were both ready for the baby, it was still a stressful time. She still had to arrange the baby's room, have her baby shower and Lord knows what else.

Elena sensed the stress from the soon-to-be new mother instantly. Perhaps it was because she once was in the same place as her. So, after watching Rebekah pace around the house for about an hour, Elena sat her down on the couch.

"You've got to stop stressing," she told her once she sat down next to her. "Everything will be fine. Damon has tomorrow off, he's going to paint the baby's room and then you and I can put together the little tyke's room just as you desire."

Rebekah sighed and nodded. "I know, it's just all coming so fast," she sighed softly. "I don't know how you lasted without Stefan. Damon is my rock." Rebekah froze as soon as she spoke, looking mournfully at Elena as she said that. "Elena… I'm sorry; I know that he is a sensitive subject with you."

Elena nodded softly. "He is," she said, not sugar coating it at all. "I got through Elissa because of you guys, you were my rock and that's how I know you two will make excellent parents."

Rebekah smiled at her. In all the years they had been living together, even though their relationship was still a bit awkward, she did truly feel like she could trust Elena with her entire life. "I got William's baby book today." She grinned softly. "Damon will probably think it's stupid, but I think it's cool. It's blue and it has an elephant on it."

Elena laughed, nodding her head. "Oh, if there's room to dispute something Damon will do it, but you know you have him wrapped around your finger so I wouldn't be worried." Pausing, she stood up suddenly and moved across the room, opening up the cupboard of a very old looking china cabinet. She reached in and shuffled through the papers until she found a sturdy looking pink book.

Rebekah watched as she closed the cupboard and walked back over to where she was, dusting it off as she sat down. "Is that Elissa's?" She asked curiously.

"Yes," Elena said softly, rubbing her fingers over the pink hippo on the front. "When I found out I was pregnant and I knew Stefan couldn't be here, I wanted to document everything. So I started it off the moment I knew for sure that there was no risk of a miscarriage." She paused and opened up the book. "I named her Elissa during my fourth month of pregnancy. Stefan and I never talked baby names, but I always thought he would think it was cute."

Rebekah smiled at her. "I think he would be in love with Lily if he were here. She would definitely be a Daddy's girl."

Elena smiled at that thought. "I remember being so scared when I first found I was pregnant. I didn't know what to do and who to be anymore. I was all alone; my husband was at war…"

_Nearly four years ago_

_Elena's hands shook as she placed the stick between her legs. She'd had her initial thoughts, missing her first period and now a second but she had just thought it was stress._

_But now, being sick at the time, having to take time off of work three days in a row… she couldn't deny it anymore._

_After she was finished, she put the cap back on the test and placed it to the side. Then it was waiting. 2 minutes for each one. She'd taken three all within seconds of each other._

_Cleaning herself up, she stood up and flushed, then moved out of the bathroom, trying to distract her to no avail. Every thought that ran through her mind was about how she could possibly be pregnant with Stefan's child. With him overseas for an undisclosed amount of time, how was she going to do it?_

_She continued to pace back and forth across their bedroom, checking the clock – that seemed to sudden slow down and take a minute to move across the second hand – again and again until finally, two minutes were up._

_Elena walked into the bathroom, trying to see if she could see the response before she got close to it, but the digitalized displays just didn't allow a sneak peak from far away._

_After a moment, she gathered the courage to walk over and take a look. Pregnant; pregnant; pregnant – all three of them were a positive test._

_Elena looked back and forth between all of them for a long moment, unable to find her voice in that moment. What the hell was she going to do?_

_Reaching for her phone in her pocket, she picked it up and dialed Rebekah's number through her tears. When Rebekah picked up on the other end, a strangled sob fell from Elena's lips. "Rebekah?" she asked, trying to calm herself down long enough to talk. "I'm pregnant."_

"It was harder with you," Rebekah finished and Elena nodded, stepping out of her reverie.

"It was so much harder but I had you two," she repeated, flicking through the pages of Elissa's baby book. "Liam will have great parents."

Rebekah paused, smiling before she answered. "Liam," she said after a moment, testing out the name. "Short for William, I like it."

**XOXOXO**

When Elena had found out she was pregnant, things changed with her. She was more careful, more loving and rarely fought against anything anyone told her to do. While she hadn't exactly been a firecracker pre-pregnancy, many people commented on her sudden change of behavior.

Not all of the comments were bad, though. Many were just people joking with her.

Carrying Elissa was one of the most magical things she'd ever felt in her entire life. She supposed she treasured the child a lot more because it was a piece of Stefan; something to hold onto while he was away from her. Even so, she remembered cradling her bump at night, telling the unborn Elissa all about her Daddy and just how excited he would be if he knew she were going to be there soon.

When Elissa was born, nothing changed. Except Stefan wasn't there; Stefan was missing and no one knew where he was. Lily grew up with Elena's memory of Stefan. Elena told her everything that he had ever done, told her all about her Daddy at every chance she got.

Stefan was a good man and if he never returned home to them, then Elena knew it was her right as a mother to remind their child about how her father was the most perfect man she'd ever met, even with being as imperfect as he was.

When she'd become pregnant with Elissa, her initial reaction was short lived and soon she began to grasp the straws for everything that Stefan was missing. That's why the baby book was made. She didn't want Stefan to miss even the littlest of things. She'd stopped editing the baby book shortly after Elissa's second birthday but there was everything from Elissa's first tooth to her a strand of hair from her first hair cut inside.

If Stefan returned home to her, then he would have missed so much. She wanted to eliminate the feeling of him abandoning his child, because she knew him too well; he would feel like crap even though it more than likely wasn't his fault.

Now that Elissa was older, Elena didn't have just one person to remind anymore, she had two. Her daughter may never personally meet her father, and her father may never personally meet her, but there was a special bond already forming between them. Even though Elissa had never met Stefan, she loved and adored him. She knew exactly who he was and what he looked like, knew how to find his face in the middle of a crowd.

She was so smart and so advanced for her age that there were times Elena forgot that she was only three years old.

Stefan would be so proud of her.

After their talk, she and Rebekah had parted their ways. Rebekah was tired and Elena needed some time to recuperate after all the Stefan talk. Elena decided to take Lily for a walk, like they did every day.

"Where are we going, Mommy?" Elissa asked, holding onto Elena's hand tightly.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she looked around, unaware that she had managed to walk down this area without really trying. She looked up at the end of the street and smiled to herself. Stefan's family home; it had been a while since she'd seen this home.

When they were first starting out as a young married couple, Stefan and Elena found out his childhood home was on the market. They had gone through a tough bidding war but ended up losing the house to an elderly couple. Elena remembered how devastated Stefan had been; the home was his only tie to his parents. When they'd passed away, his Uncle had sold the house to another owner and that owner was the one who sold the house to the couple.

"I'm gonna show you where I met your Daddy," Elena said, advancing on the place.

Outside, an elderly woman weeded the yard. Although they had lost the home to them, Elena could not find any reason to be malicious so as Elena and Lily approached, she smiled in her direction. "See, Lily," she said softly. "When I was just a little older than you, a boy moved down the road from me; your Aunt Caroline and I didn't like boys much then, but our Mommy's told us that we should play with him because he's still new and he doesn't know how to make friends yet. I'm glad now that your Grandma told me to do that."

The elderly woman stopped wedding and looked back at them, obviously touched by the story. "This house must have meant a lot to you." She said softly.

"It meant a lot to my husband," Elena answered. "We were bidding on this place when it went up a couple of years ago."

The woman nodded. "A lot of people were. When Frank and I saw this place we just knew it was where we wanted to live for the rest of our time together."

Elena smiled softly, looking down at Lily who didn't seem to shy away from the strange woman. "My husband would agree with you on that. This house was exactly what he wanted to give to me when we were first married."

Wiping the dirt from her knees, the woman took off her gloves and extended her hand. "I'm Miriam." She said softly, looking down at the child.

"Elena," she answered, holding out her hand and shaking it. "I didn't mean to bother you; I actually don't even know how we got down here. It's quite a way from our home."

Miriam shook her head. "It's no bother, not many people around here just come and great an elderly woman like me."

Elena sighed at that thought; this area was so closely knit. Her parents lived just up the road along with Caroline's parents. Nobody talked to each other anymore, when she was little the neighbors spent more time at Elena's home than her own. That's why she hung around with Caroline and Stefan a lot; it was an escape away from home. "Well, it was nice to meet you, but I do believe that we should start making our way home before it gets dark."

The elderly woman nodded her head softly. "It was nice to meet you too, Elena. And this little one too," she said, smiling at Lily. Being the polite and well respected child she was, Elissa didn't hesitate to smile back.

"Good bye," Elena said as she walked away with Lily.

Some things were just meant to be, she supposed. If they lived in that home, sure they would be closer to their families but perhaps it was just that the home Stefan had lived in before his parents passed away was meant to go to this couple.

**XOXOXO**

That night, long after Lily was in bed, Rebekah and Elena sat in the living room, working on Liam's baby book. Damon was gone to the local hardware store to look for a specific shade of paint that Rebekah demanded be the color of the baby's room. It was just the two of them, alone to their own thoughts.

"Elena?" Rebekah asked after a while. They'd done the first few pages of Liam's baby book and it was turning out to be a well put together archive of his life so far, though Elena had to thank Rebekah's organization skills for that one.

Elena looked up at Rebekah and raised her eyebrow in question. "Yes?" She asked softly, turning back to the page as she tried to align his latest ultrasound picture along with the other ones perfectly.

"What was being in labor like?" She asked suddenly, biting on the bottom of her lip. As Elena looked up again, she caught a glimpse of fear in the young woman's eyes. Perhaps Rebekah Mikaelson-Salvatore wasn't as strong as one would think. Even though they didn't necessarily get along, Elena shared the feeling of the woman's anguish over giving birth. On television, they made it seem heavenly – unless you were watching _A Baby Story_.

Elena paused, trying to think of the correct way to describe what labor was like. There was a lot of pain involved, of course, and for a long time Elena had considered begging for a C-section but she'd ended up giving birth to Elissa naturally. Well, as natural as one could get with the amount of drugs that had been pumped into her system to numb the pain slightly.

"Being in labor is both a painful and a wonderful thing." Elena started, sitting back in the couch suddenly. "I mean, the pain is nearly unbearable and the damn moment they let you know you can get an epidural, jump on it. But it's always wonderful because you've been waiting so long to meet your baby. After all the sore backs, ankles and boobs that you've been going through it's a relief to just hold your baby in your arms and know that you'll be their guardian for the rest of their life."

It was a bit different for Elena too, when Elissa was born she'd cried endlessly. Not because she was sad that Elissa was there, rather the opposite, she was quite thrilled to finally be a mother. When Elissa was born, Elena cried because Stefan wasn't there to witness it. He wasn't there to cut the umbilical cord and nothing could give that moment back to him. Not even the movie that Damon had recorded while she gave birth.

_February 3 – Elissa's birth_

_Elena had never felt pain like she did in that moment. She'd only been in labor for a couple of hours. After Rebekah and Damon found her crouched on the bathroom floor, things had been going very quickly. She'd seen roughly five doctors since her visit and none of them had told her particularly settling news. After two hours of labor, she was only a mere two centimeters and by the way they were talking, she expected it to be a very long night._

_Rebekah sat to her side while Damon stood behind her, both of them watching her carefully. Matt was in the waiting room, unable to get in because he wasn't family. She knew how much he wanted to be there, as he had expressed it to her many times over her pregnancy, but every time she would open her mouth to speak to a nurse, another contraction would hit. Hopefully soon they'd grant her the beauty of the epidural._

_Four hours later, Elena was only at four centimeters. Luckily, she was given an epidural and she felt just fine. They'd let Matt come in and now everyone had chairs. _

"_I expected a lot more swearing coming from your end," Matt said, trying to lighten the mood of the room. Elena smiled at his attempt and rolled her eyes._

"_They gave her drugs," Rebekah answered for her, smirking softly. "She's on cloud nine, I'm pretty sure that if you punched her in the face right now she'd just laugh at you."_

_Elena glared at Matt. "Don't you dare try, Mr. Just because I'm in labor don't mean I have anything against whooping your ass." _

_The room settled into a chorus of laughs after that._

_Sixteen and a half hours later, after being in labor a total of twenty two and a half hours of labor, Elissa Marie Salvatore was born. She weighed 8 pounds, 4 ounces and screamed until she met her mother. After that, it was like there was no baby in the room at all. Elissa just cuddled into Elena's arms and stayed quiet._

_The waterworks started soon after that and Elena, unable to control the tears, just smiled and let them roll, thinking about how she had Stefan's nose and when she opened her eyes, it was Stefan's eyes staring back at her. She didn't know it yet, but she had a pretty great Daddy, who Elena still believed was somewhere in this earth, waiting for someone to find him._

"Hopefully my labor goes a lot faster than yours did," Rebekah joked and Elena nodded with her. "My mom had five children; Kol and I were the longest because we were twins. I hope to God that means that I'll have fast labor too."

Elena nodded quietly. "That's just about every pregnant woman's dream," she laughed. "To have a short labor," she clarified.

The room settled back down into quietness again and Elena finally picked up the glue and glued the ultrasound picture onto the paper after getting approval from Rebekah.

Looking at all the things they had gathered so far for Liam, it made Elena sort of feel sentimental. They even had the broken condom on there, something Rebekah had made Damon clear out for days before she could even comprehend the decision to put it in with Liam's book.

Elena was pretty sure that Rebekah still wasn't convinced that putting it in was a good idea, but Elena found it kind of cute how involved Damon was getting. Knowing him since he was the bratty eight year old that was always looming around when Stefan, Caroline and Elena would play, she had found it particularly hard to envision him as a father.

Even after Elissa was brought into the room and he went into full Uncle Mode, she never thought of him with kids. So naturally, when Rebekah and Damon informed her that she was going to become an Aunt, she was thrilled but also shocked. Rebekah and Damon were the two most unlikely people in her mind to ever have children, though they were doing a good job so far.

After a while, Rebekah lifted up her head from her paper – a letter that she was writing Liam for when he was older, when he could appreciate it more. Elena was cutting out bubble letters for the front page of Liam's book. "Elena?" Rebekah asked again, causing the brunette to lift up her head just briefly.

"One second, just gotta finish cutting this 'l' and I'll be right with you," she said, clearly distracted. Rebekah adjusted the paper on her bump and watched as Elena smoothly cut around her initial design and then dropped the scissors and the paper and looked up. "Yeah?"

Rebekah stopped for a long moment, unsure of how to bring up her topic of curiosity. With Elena, it was almost always a ticking time bomb and no one wanted to set it off before they could get away from it. Especially when it came to Stefan, whose mere name brought up emotions from Elena that no one knew how to deal with. "What if," she said softly, her teeth nearly biting into her lip as she sat there, "what if Stefan really is dead?"

The thought had crossed Elena's mind once or twice but she never stayed on it for too long. Thinking Stefan was dead meant she gave up with every hope she'd ever had in the past three years. "He's not," Elena said simply, and then turned back to the paper, beginning to cut again.

If Stefan was dead, she thought later that night, then she'd want to die too.

A/N: Heeee! This is chapter 3. Oh my god guys, I have like up to chapter 14 or something planned out for this fic. And also, no mean!Matt I read a fic once where Matt was a total douche to Elena. Matt is a sweetheart who just wants to be loved and Elena accepts him for that. Love Matt, he's awesome. Anyway, I have a pretty busy week. I'm trying to write chapter 4 and 5 in advance so they can be a quick post so you guys aren't hanging on for another update!


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: Okay, so I tried my very best to get two more chapters out to you last week after I told you I would, but I think it's safe to say life intervened and I was just too damn tired to do anything. I'm sorry guys. I hope you forgive me.

The letters came and went; Elena had learned that sometimes there was an influx of them – sometimes it seemed as though it was months and months before she'd even get the slightest inkling of what was going on with their investigation.

While all they could tell her was that they were looking further into it, the reassurance somehow made her feel a lot better in the long run of things. It may have made Elena silly to have such hopes and dreams and aspirations, but she didn't care.

Two months had passed since her last letter. Well, to be exact it was two months, four days and fourty-two seconds. She may have been a little off with the seconds, but she knew for sure that she was close.

Elena had learned how to cope with the vagueness of the letters and even how long it took to come between them, but she was having a hard time lately trying to figure out where she was in this world without Stefan. Before, it was so much easier to imagine life. Now it was hard to imagine the next day.

Elissa and Rebekah were in the next room, watching _The Wiggles_ and giggling while she sat in the kitchen, lost in her thoughts. Damon walked into the room, not surprised at all to catch her like this. However, as he moved closer and pressed a letter in front of her view, he saw a spark of recognition in her face before she grabbed the letter and opened it quickly.

Damon didn't like to watch Elena when she read the letters. It was true that she looked far too into them, even picking out the silliest things for supporting evidence of her thoughts. As much as he loved her, he knew the loss of his brother was taking a mental toll on her; the longer he was missing, the lesser grip she had on reality.

Sitting down beside her, though, he waited for her to let him know what was going on. Her face was unreadable, and for a long moment he waited, wondering what the news was and where it was going to take her this time.

Elena read the letter over once, then twice, and then again and again until she couldn't see the words in front of her any longer through her tears. Her hands gripped the paper tighter, unable to think any further with the little bit of information she was given. Everything meant something – didn't this too?

Damon, startled by her reaction, wrapped his arms around her shoulders and tried to catch a glimpse of what the paper read, but she quickly pressed it against her chest and leaned into his embrace. He held her close, unsure of what to do.

If Elissa walked in… what was he supposed to say? The more tears that fell from Elena's eyes, the more sure he was that his brother was dead. Perhaps finally, he'd be able to have a burial. Something that would allow Elena a sense of closure, even though he knew that there was no closure for her.

She, after all this time, still refused to believe that Stefan was dead. Even if she'd been blatantly told several times, Elena still held onto the hope that he was just a wounded soldier, lost in the world.

However, her tears made him grow suspicion. He'd expected more of a reaction from Elena, especially someone who had just spent the past three years doing nothing but hoping and wishing and wanting Stefan to return home to her and perhaps now he would, just in a wooden box for her to bury in the ground.

Damon thought about bringing it up to her, but his voice caught in his throat as he thought about his baby brother, and how the likelihood of everything was that he was now dead, officially. The same baby brother that he had taken care of his entire life, the one who he had given his ice cream to that day in the park after an older kid had stolen his.

After all this waiting and wondering, Damon realized that it hadn't just been Elena who had been hoping for Stefan to return to her. He'd been waiting too; unrealistically, of course. Deep down in his heart, he knew Stefan was dead.

It was just hard for him to say that out loud.

**XOXOXO**

When Elena returned home from her walk with Lily, the house was quiet. She thought briefly that Damon and Rebekah had just fallen asleep early, as they usually would, but there was a slight sense of alarming calmness to the house. Lifting Elissa up into her arms, she walked through the living room and into the kitchen.

"Mommy, where is Aunt Rebekah and Uncle Dammie?" Lily asked in her ear, as though she knew that she had to be quiet in that moment. Even if she didn't understand what was going on a great deal of the time, she was still a very smart little girl who caught onto things very quickly.

Elena shook her head, confusion spreading over her face. "I'm not sure, Lily," she said quietly, moving toward the laundry room, tucking her head inside before she stepped back. "Rebekah?" she called across the house cautiously.

A strangled sob was all that was heard. Elena's blood froze in her veins and she planted Lily on the floor, tucking her in the laundry room. "Lily, hide. Mommy will come back and get you in a second."

Elena shut the door to the laundry room before Lily could argue with her and then she rushed toward the sound. "Rebekah?" she called again, trying to figure out exactly where she'd heard it from. "Rebekah?!" she shrieked, finally identifying that the sound was behind the bathroom door.

She rushed toward the door and opened it, finding Rebekah on the ground, sitting in a pool of water. Rebekah looked up at her and groaned.

"Jesus Christ!" Elena exclaimed, rushing to her side. "Where's your phone? Why didn't you call?" She paused and frowned. "Where's Damon?"

"Elena…" Rebekah trailed off, inhaling a deep breath. "You can ask all the questions that you want, but please, I need to get to a hospital now."

Nodding her head, Elena lifted Rebekah up to the best of her abilities and helped her downstairs. "Lily," she called out. "Come out sweetheart, Auntie Rebekah needs to go to the hospital and have William."

Lily came out cautiously, but upon seeing her Aunt and the frantic look on her mother's face, she too joined into the rush of getting Rebekah out the door.

At the hospital later, after finding Damon in a grocery store, attempting to find something that Rebekah had told him to go get for her before she went into labor, everything was settling down nicely.

Except for Elena; the last time she had been in a hospital, she was giving birth to Elissa – without Stefan. And now with the news of looming over her mind, she wasn't sure what she was going to do anymore. Every time she thought of Stefan it brought a certain pang to her chest that made her question if she was having a heart attack.

"Mommy, I'm bored." Lily said as she sat back in the seat, her feet dangling across the edge. "Can't we go home and sleep?"

Truth be told, Elena knew that she should be home tucking Lily into bed, but the last place she wanted to be was in that home alone. At least at the hospital, she had Damon and Rebekah close by.

And Matt, whenever he would come. He only had another hour left of a shift at the Grille. Elena had tried to call Bonnie and Jeremy a couple of times, knowing her brother would take care of Lily in an instance, even though it was an hour drive to come and get it, but no one had answered.

"I'm going to try and get ahold of your Uncle Jer again honey." She sighed, shaking her head as she moved out into the hall and called the number, letting it ring.

After Jeremy answered the phone and told her he'd get Bonnie ready and leave within the next ten minutes. She thanked him and walked back into the room, just as Lily was settling into Damon's arms.

"Rebekah wants ice chips; Lily and I are going on a scavenger hunt." He explained, noting her confusion.

Elena laughed and rolled her eyes, settling down into the chair beside her. "Don't lose my baby girl," she said softly. "Uncle Jer is coming to get her soon and I'll have to bring her down."

Damon smirked at her and nodded. "We'll do our very best, won't we Lily?" He teased, looking at Elissa who nodded and grinned.

"Of course Mama, I won't let Uncle Dammie lose us."

Elena waved as Elissa and Damon walked out of the room and leaned back in her chair, kicking her feet up on the hospital bed. Rebekah laughed softly. "Comfortable?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "Because I sure as hell ain't," she added a moment later, cringing after she spoke.

Rebekah had received the epidural just a few moments before and it hadn't exactly kicked in yet, though she was promised at any moment she would be in pain free heaven. Elena felt bad for her, even though it had taken her a lot longer than it had taken Rebekah to get to the minimum four centimeters needed for the actual treatment of the epidural.

"I have a lot on my mind," Elena answered softly, shaking her head. The truth was, her thoughts hadn't stopped swirling since she had gotten the letter earlier that day. She hadn't told anyone about it even when Damon asked she'd just broken down in tears and hadn't even offered him the letter. "It's hard to be truly comfortable when you feel like you're just going to crawl out of your skin at any given moment."

Rebekah looked at her sympathetically, but didn't say anything for a long moment. Elena bit down on her lower lip as she watched her, wondering what was going through her mind. When she and Rebekah first met, shortly after she and Damon started dating, she had always thought Rebekah was the complete opposite of him. She was much quieter and controlled and usually kept to herself whereas Damon took pride on being able to walk in on Elena and Stefan as they rolled around in the sheets.

Of course, Damon had grown up since then but he still had his moments. Elena had always attributed his grown up behavior to Rebekah's influence in his life. Now that they were having a kid, she hoped to God that he would keep up the attitude.

However, today Rebekah's quietness was not appreciated. Elena was going off her head; unsure of how to take the news she'd been given. Any letter that she had received in the past three years had always lead to open wounds and unanswered questions. But this letter… it gave Elena hope.

For the first time in three years, Elena had a reason to hope. And it wasn't false hope, not what she had spent her life living on since Stefan went missing. It was genuine hope. As she thought about the letter, she rehearsed in her head exactly what it had said.

The letter had informed her that they had found a few new items from Stefan in a nearby town and that they were investigating the trail, hoping it lead somewhere.

After three years, finding something of Stefan's was too much for her to handle. How was she supposed to react? She just wanted to jump up and down. Of course, they had sent her his dog tags, that they had told her he was wearing the night he went missing not too long before, but she was pretty sure they had created new ones to send out to her so that she wouldn't approach someone and let them know about how she'd been lead on for three years.

Rebekah blinked and sighed. "What's on your mind?" She asked quietly. "Because I'm not too sure I want to hear it anymore."

The truth was, Rebekah and Damon had been through all the trials with Elena too. When they married, Elena was her maid of honor, as fucked up as the situation was, Elena was family and Rebekah held that close to her heart. Her brothers and their wives lived halfway across the United States and she barely saw any of her nieces or nephews unless she skype-chatted with Katherine or Caroline or even Sage. Elena was the only family, besides Damon and Lily that she had anymore.

Elena looked at her and read over the letter in her head again. "I received another letter today," she started off after a moment. "The lieutenant said in his letter that a few things of Stefan's were found in a nearby town and they were going to investigate further."

Rebekah nodded, unfazed by what Elena was telling her. She had been told all those promises too, though they came from Elena's mouth and when she said them, she was always a lot more hopeful with the ideas than they were, she was sure. "I hope to God they find him soon," she said softly. She didn't add what she wanted to – "dead or alive."

Telling Rebekah was the first step, Elena thought. She and Damon had become close while they shared the details that she was being given with each letter, but Elena knew that she couldn't give him this information, not if it was just another empty trail. Damon lost his brother the same time that Elena lost her husband and of course, he took it a lot harder than she did.

Yes, Elena loves Stefan with her entire being. There was no one in this world that could possibly dispute that fact. But Damon grew up with Stefan, he knew everything about him and losing his brother, even if he was still alive somewhere out there hurt him a lot more than it hurt anyone else.

So that was why Elena sat up suddenly and looked Rebekah in the eye. "Rebekah," she said softly. "You have to promise me something.

Though slightly out of it, Rebekah nodded her head. "Anything," she said, yawning as she spoke. Elena would let her rest in a moment and go and find Damon and Elissa.

"I need you to promise me that you won't tell Damon about this." Elena said simply, her gaze never wavering. Rebekah seemed startled by this thought; because Elena knew they didn't keep secrets from each other. Even if Damon was the one that Elena confided in, she was sure that Rebekah knew all about the letters and the probable false hopes she was being spoon fed throughout the years.

After a while, Rebekah nodded her head. "Okay," she said, licking her lips. "If that's what you want."

"It is."

**XOXOXO**

Hours later, after giving Jeremy the key to her home and letting him bring Lily back there with Bonnie and Matt coming to the hospital, the four adults sat around quietly, not talking to each other.

Rebekah had just been informed that within the next half an hour, baby William would be born into the earth. After nine months of carrying him, he was about to be in her arms.

They had been there quite a few hours at this point, and Elena was excited to meet her new nephew, but she couldn't help but hold onto the sick feeling in her stomach that reminded her she wasn't supposed to be here with Matt, she was supposed to be here with Stefan.

Matt was… well Matt.

She had known him for almost as long as she had known Stefan; they all grew up together, but Matt was special. He was her best friend and he'd been there with her in every sense of the way – without being intimate with each other – since Elissa was born. Elissa knew that Matt was not her father and while Matt didn't seem too startled by this fact, they had gotten into a few arguments over Stefan and Elena's idolizing of him.

Elena simply thought that there was no reason why it was bad to make her daughters father a hero in her daughter's eyes.

Finally, when Rebekah and Damon entered the delivery room and Matt and Elena sat outside, waiting. There wasn't anything else to do, but as she sat there she could feel Matt's eyes on her.

"What?" She asked after a moment, lifting her head up to meet his eyes.

Matt smiled at her, tilting his head away from her. "Nothing, El, I just think you look really beautiful today."

Elena sighed softly, unable to think of something to say back to him that wasn't a rejection. Matt had been there for her for as long as she could remember, but she didn't see him that way. It was always going to be Stefan for her, dead or alive.

Or so she thought.

"Matt…" Elena said, looking at him for a long moment. "You can't say things like that."

Matt looked at her. "And why the hell not – it's how I think and how I feel and I should be able to say that whatever it is."

Matt spoke the truth. Elena knew how he felt her for and yet did nothing to remove him from her life, even though she knew that it would probably be the best for his sanity. But Matt was a rock to her and losing him was just too much for her to handle.

Perhaps she was the weak one, leading him along the way she did.

Before either of them could answer, Damon walked into the hall. "C'mon, guys." He said with a tired grin. "Come meet Liam."

William "Liam" Giuseppe Stefan Salvatore weighed nine pounds, two ounces at birth. The first time Elena met him, he was a screaming infant that only calmed down in his mother's arms but he was a beautiful baby.

And his Daddy was there to see his birth.

A/N: This is slightly shorter than what I am used to writing, but I wrote this literally in like four hours. More drama is to come! I hope you all liked this!


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